European Festivals Cancelled by Heatwave, iHeartMedia's $150M Cuts — Monday, June 29

Europe's record heatwave dominated the weekend, forcing the cancellation of Defqon.1 in the Netherlands and Solidays in Paris — with the latter's HIV/AIDS charity warning its global programs are now at serious financial risk. Meanwhile, iHeartMedia pushed ahead with broad radio layoffs as part of a $150M cost-reduction plan, and Justin Bieber's post-Coachella momentum showed no signs of slowing. **Deals & M&A** • Gibson CEO Cesar Gueikian exits July 31; CCO Anne Rohosy steps in as interim president and CEO. **Streaming & Tech** • MMF and YouTube relaunch their Accelerator grant as "Hyperdrive," expanding support for independent music managers. **Live & Touring** • Defqon.1 cancelled after Netherlands issues first-ever Code Red heat warning; Q-dance offering full refunds. • Katy Perry's set at Belgium's Werchter Boutique also cancelled due to severe heatwave thunderstorms. **Artists & Releases** • Justin Bieber drops Swag Live From Coachella via Def Jam — 22 tracks, 147M YouTube views, 1,800% Spotify spike. **International** • Solidays cancellation by Paris authorities puts HIV/AIDS nonprofit Solidarité Sida's programs in 21 countries at risk. **Also Today** • iHeartMedia executes broad radio programming layoffs as part of a $150M combined cost-reduction plan. • Madonna calls AI "the complete opposite of making art" in new public commentary. • AFM elects Tino Gagliardi as international president in new union leadership shake-up. • Josie and the Pussycats singer Kay Hanley has earned under $1,500 in residuals, none since 2009, due to a clerical error. Five minutes, six categories, zero fluff.

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Today is Monday, june twenty ninth, twenty twenty six. First up, deals and MA. Gibson's CEO Caesar Gekkian is stepping down at the end of July. Anne Rahosi, the company's chief commercial officer, will take over as interim president and CEO while the guitar maker searches for a permanent replacement. Gekkian will stay on as a strategic board advisor. Next, streaming and tech. The Music Managers Forum, a UK trade body, has partnered with YouTube to expand their accelerator grant program. The new initiative is called Hyperdrive, and it's designed to give independent music managers more professional development support and resources. On to Live and Touring. The Netherlands declared its first ever code red heat alert. QDance, which organizes DEF CON 1, is issuing full refunds to all ticket holders. Solidays is particularly significant. That festival generates 70% of the annual funding for Solidarite SEDA, an HIV and AIDS nonprofit. Organizers are now warning that the charity's programs across 21 countries are at risk because of this cancellation. Now artist news. Justin Bieber released a live album this week, Swag Live from Coachella, a 22-track set from his April headline performance. The project dropped via Def Jam. His Coachella set was massive. It drew 147 million views on YouTube, and Spotify streams spiked 1800% in the week after the show. Finally, International. The cancellation of Solidays in Paris underscores the real stakes of Europe's climate crisis for the music industry. Beyond the immediate loss of the festival itself, the charity it funds faces a serious funding shortfall. Separately, Katy Perry's performance at Belgium's Workter Boutique was also canceled due to severe heat wave thunderstorms. That's your music industry rundown. Have a good Monday.